The Premier League Show on BBC this week promised an intimate interview with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, and it delivered as we got to learn more about the passionate Italian who is masterminding Chelsea's march towards the title.
Lineker asked some interesting questions such as the reasoning behind Conte initially opting to play with four at the back when his preferred 3-5-2 is what saw Chelsea kick up a gear, but most interesting was the Italian manager's firm view that China poses a real threat to European football, following a discussion about Diego Costa.
Conte feels that the Spanish international striker has shown the commitment to lead him to believe he will be at the club for some time but after Lineker cheekily reminded him of Chelsea's history with flexing their financial muscles, his response was the following:
I think this is not the right way. To pay a lot of money, the players also, to keep them in the club. We must always have the right vision to understand the right way, don't lose the right way because if we lost the right way, I don't think it's a good example for young players, for the people in general at work everyday.
He's an interesting character, Conte.
His handling of the Diego Costa situation appears to have been very well played, as what could have cause major disruption to Chelsea's season instead passed without much impact at all. As a result, Chelsea look very much like champions elect.
